A Pasadena Stroll
Here is a set of pictures and some description of a beautiful walk through
some of the best parts of Pasadena, California. Contrary to popular
opinion, Southern California is still a pretty nice place to be.
I like to walk this route to sharpen hunger before dinner in
Old Town, and it's about 30 minutes, but if you went to both museums and
lingered for shopping, it would take all day. The total length end-to-end
is 1.5 miles, or 3 miles round-trip.
There is some Practical Information
about driving directions to the start point, parking, refreshment,
opening hours of the museums, and
here are some Pasadena Web Links.
Everything here is to be interpreted as being "my opinion". I would like
to say that this project is written and underwritten by me, I have
received money from nobody, and I thank my employer, the
Caltech CACR
for providing space on their web server.
Brought to you by BallAndClaw.com
You can click on the red arrows to see the pictures, or just print out this
document and walk.
Beginning: The Pacific-Asia Museum
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These pictures were taken on a day in February with sunshine and storm clouds.
Here, the Pacific-Asia Museum is seen from Colorado Boulevard, with the
San Gabriel Mountains in the background. The highest point in this front range
is Mount Wilson, home of the Observatory.
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The distinctive eaves of the Pacific-Asia Museum. The museum was originally
commissioned by Grace Nicholson in 1924 to house her extensive collection
of Far Eastern Art.
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I did not put this pink flower into the arms of Buddha. These koi, or carp,
as we called them back in Wisconsin, are popular at the Pacific-Asia Museum.
The courtyard is very tranquil.
When you exit the Museum, turn right (north) and cross Union Street.
You might want to walk a few steps up Los Robles and stop at either
the Fuller Seminary Bookstore, or something a little lighter at
Higher Grounds, the coffeeshop connected to the Bookstore.
Walk east on Union one block, and turn left (north) into
Fuller Seminary.
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The grounds of the seminary are quiet and green, a relief from the traffic
on Union Street. There is a prayer garden, and big old houses converted
to function for the school.
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The formal entrance in Victorian gothic.
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More green and tranquillity. Turn left (west) here, and walk towards
the postmodern Doubletree Hotel at the end of the street.
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This plethora of gables contrasts with the Cartesian grid of the hotel.
Now cross Los Robles and walk into the hotel entrance, that you can see in
this picture.
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I have always liked walking under an arcade or cloister. Here is a nice one
running down Los Robles Avenue just as you enter the hotel courtyard.
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As soon as you enter the hotel, turn left (south). Notice the wooden
multiple-scale grids around you. There is a restaurant which does a very
fancy Sunday Brunch. Continue south and through the outdoor patio.
You are surrounded by fountains.
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I couldn't resist taking this picture of a pretty girl asleep in the
fountains. There are extremely brightly colored tiles on the wall to the
right (west), which borders the grounds of All Saints Church.
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A boy and a bronze dragonfly. I have always liked this tall fountain that
looks like the wings of a dragonfly. The wings are many different shades
of green and turquoise from the action of the water. Turn right (west) here,
and you see the dome of
City Hall
in front of you.
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Here is Pasadena
City Hall
from Plaza Las Fuentes. Continue forward past
fountains that look like snails.
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Pasadena City Hall
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Walk up the steps or use the ramp to the coutyard of Pasadena City Hall,
beautifully planted and surrounded by arcades and bas-relief on the walls.
In the middle is a large fountain, with carvings such as this one.
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Continue west under the dome. In front of you is the Pasadena Vietnam Veterans
Memorial and a vista down Holly Street into Old Town.
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The west front of Pasadena City Hall is rather impressive, and there is
plenty of space to admire it because of the immense width of Garfield
Street.
Incidentally, to your right (north) is
Pasadena Public Library, where you can use one of four PC's connected
to the Net to read your email. The Library is open Monday-Thursday
9-9, Friday & Saturday 9-6, and Sunday 1-5.
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Continue west along Holly Street. Who said the LA area is a semi-arid desert?
At the corner with Marengo Avenue, cross the street, turn right (north)
half a block to the Marengo Deli. Turn Left (west).
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Holly Street Village and Memorial Park
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We are looking into a condo development called Holly Street Village. There is
a sandy road leading up and into the development. As you walk up, the
old police building is the large block on your left. You see the red-brick
flank of the Brookmore Apartments on your right.
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At the crest of the hill, there is a fountain with a sprite perched on top.
Continue west, and cross a footbridge into Memorial Park. There are
Ladies and Gentleman's conveniences a few feet to the south.
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Walk through the park to Raymond Avenue. There is a rather nice bandshell:
maybe someone could decide what to do with it. This picture is of the concrete
sign telling us this is Memorial Park at the south west corner.
Across Raymond Avenue is the old Perkins Palace Theatre, a magnificent old
place which is closed and thirsty for an entrepreneur.
Turn left (south) on Raymond and walk to Holly Street.
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Alleys of Old Town Pasadena
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Turn right on Holly. There are antique and clothing shops further down Holly,
but the walk makes the first left (south) into Kendall Alley. Look in the
brickwork: every seventh row is different. Why?
You might stop into the spaced-out Micah's Cafe, a replacement
for the old Espresso Bar that represented the "old" Old Town back then.
Micah's is open after 7pm.
Continue walking into a pleasant courtyard, then south past the
Old Town Pub, known to old-timers as the Loch Ness Monster.
Walk through the parking lot to the intersection of Union Street and Fair
Oaks Avenue.
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You will see this view of Fair Oaks Avenue down to Colorado. I like to
shortcut though Rizzoli bookstore and check out the foreign newspapers.
But the official route is along Union Street, then left (south)
into Smith Alley.
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As you walk into the alley from Union Street, look in the window for people
making bread, which can be bought at the Italian restaurant Il Fornaio
just ahead of you. Do I need to say that Pane is Italian for bread?
Il Fornaio has an excellent selection of grappa, should you need
fortifying at this stage.
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Ahead of you is The Giant Porcelain Blacksmith, fascinating to
children, who compulsively climb on it. There are some nice public seats here
for people-watching.
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Turn right at the corner and walk west.
This boy was waiting at the door of a clothes shop for his mother. In the
foreground is a planter full of rosemary: you should pick some, rub it on
your hands, and smell it. There is also a brass dog here, and when I first took
my German Shepherd, Petra, along here, she barked at it.
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This space is called One
Colorado Plaza. It is a beautiful place to
stop and sit, with people traffic everywhere. There is a cinema, a brew-pub,
clothes shops, Johnny Rocket Hamburgers, and other businesses. It looks a
lot like a public place in Europe, but in fact it is not really public;
you can see this for yourself by aggressively asserting your Free-Speech
rights, at which point a security guard will stop you.
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Another feature of the One
Colorado Plaza is the magnificent sculpture
The Glass Water Repairpersons. There is a
a sculpted leaking water-main, a pile of glued-down bricks, and steel
pipes that the children crawl through. One of the repairpersons is
female. Which one?
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Continue around the cinema, then west along a narrow alley, and out
into Delacey Street. Go left, then right (west) along an alley that has
not been gentrified. Here is Old Town Pasadena before it was trendy.
At the end is this old warehouse with big windows, and the old painted
signs.
Turn left (south) on Pasadena Avenue, go half a block to Colorado, and
turn right (west). Now there is a long walk over the freeway bridge.
To the south is the rump of the 710 freeway, that was planned to connect
to Long Beach.
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You pass the old Nash car dealership on Colorado Blvd. They were bought
by Hudson, became American Motors, then were absorbed by Chrysler.
Now it holds very
shiny and expensive cars that you and I cannot afford, but we can have
a lot of fun test-driving them. There is Hughes Market across
the street, useful for a quick snack at the deli, or a full-size
grocery-shopping orgy.
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The entrance to the
Norton Simon Museum. It's a beautiful place to visit, Thursday to Sunday,
10 to 5. Everyone can find a painting or sculpture that they can make their own.
It contains one of the world's finest collections of great masters.
Its outstanding scope is matched only by its superb quality, with
over two thousand years of Western and Asian art represented. European
paintings and sculpture range from the 14th to the 20th century.
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Returning
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Along Colorado Blvd, look at the building facades. There are some fun
things going on up there.
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After the rigours of all this walking and art, you might feel justified
in popping in to Ernie Jr's Taco House for a quick one. Usually
a full day of physical labor makes me feel that a visit to Ernie's is
allowable. On the other side of Colorado is a combo Starbucks/Barnes
and Noble,
where you can efficiently alternate between drinking coffee and information.
Speaking of which, when will somebody open a Cybercafe in Pasadena?
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Continue down Colorado, crossing Delacey Street, past the other cinema.
Look right (south) down Mills Alley. I like The Equator Coffeehouse,
and the used-book store opposite, Book Alley.
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Walk east on Colorado and
turn right at Fair Oaks Avenue. Look across the street to some of the facades,
such as this one, which reminds me of Homer Simpson.
Just past Mercantile Place is Kansai, a Japanese noodle restaurant:
Healthy -but-Satisfying.
The walk continues east down Mercantile Place to Raymond Avenue.
At the end is Lucky Baldwins,
a British Pub, just in case you need sustenance. Turn right (south) on
Raymond. There is South Raymond News if you want something to
read, and the excellent Distant Lands Travel bookstore if you want
something to dream about.
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On Raymond, just south of Green Street, is the Moorish
Castle Green,
a relic of the golden age of Pasadena, when rich easterners would come west
for the winter on the new Southern Pacific Railroad. The railroad
(you will cross it in a moment) is now closed, soon to be reborn as a
Light Rail route.
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Walk back quickly on Green or Colorado. You could stop in at The Mall
(aka the Plaza Pasadena) if you want to shop some more. At the corner
with Garfield is this rather good Post Office. Post offices in the
USA were built with such magnificence, but no more I fear.
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